3.6 Asset Management

Published

February 17, 2026

Policy and Procedure 3.6 - Asset Management

3.6.1. Cash Management & Investments

Policy

The Executive Director administers the investment accounts.

Procedures

  • Investment accounts are held at Vanguard. The Executive Director has access.
  • Executive Director obtains Board Chair approval to make transfers from interest for restricted purposes.

3.6.1.1. Investment Policy of ESIP

3.6.1.1.1. Purchase of Investment Policy

The purpose of this Investment Policy is to provide a clear statement of the Organization’s investment objective, to define the responsibilities of the Board of Directors (Directors) and any other parties involved in managing the Organization’s investments, and to identify or provide target asset allocations, permissible investments and diversification requirements.

3.6.1.1.2. Investment Objective

The overall investment objective of the Organization is to maximize the return on invested assets while minimizing risk and expenses. This is done through prudent investing and planning, as well as through the maintenance of a diversified portfolio.

3.6.1.1.3. General Provisions

  • All transactions shall be for the sole benefit of the Organization.
  • The Directors shall consider updating the Organization’s investment policy on an annual basis.
  • The Directors shall conduct an annual review of the Organization’s investment assets to verify the existence and marketability of the underlying assets or satisfy themselves that such a review has been conducted in connection with an independent audit (if any) of the Organization’s financial statements.
  • Any investment that is not expressly permitted under this Policy must be formally reviewed and approved by the Directors.
  • The Directors will endeavor to operate the Organization’s investment program in compliance with all applicable state, federal and local laws and regulations concerning management of investment assets [including IRC §4944 if the Organization is classified as a private foundation for federal tax purposes.]
  • Investments shall be diversified with a view to minimizing risk.

3.6.1.1.4. Delegation of Responsibility; Reliance on Experts and Advisors

  • The Board of Directors has ultimate responsibility for the investment and management of the Organization’s investment assets.
  • The Board may delegate authority over the Organization’s investments to a properly formed and constituted Investment Committee, being a Board Committee comprised only of directors.
  • The Board or Board Committee may hire outside experts as investment consultants or investment managers.
  • The Board may also establish an advisory committee (which may include non-directors) to provide investment advice to the Board or to the Board Committee. Advisory committees have no authority to act for the Board, but may monitor compliance with the investment policy, recommend changes, and assist the Board or Board Committee in selecting and retaining Investment Managers to execute this Investment Policy.

3.6.1.1.5. Responsibilities of the Board, or if authority is delegated, the Investment Committee

The Board, or if authority is delegated, the Investment Committee, is charged with the responsibility of managing the investment assets of the Organization. The specific responsibilities of the Board or the Investment Committee, as applicable, include:

  • Communicating the Organization’s financial needs to the Investment Managers on a timely basis.
  • Determining the Organization’s risk tolerance and investment horizon and communicating these to the appropriate parties.
  • Establishing reasonable and consistent investment objectives, policy guidelines and allocations which will direct the investment of the assets, to be reviewed by the Board on an annual basis.
  • Prudently and diligently selecting one or more qualified investment professionals, including investment managers(s), investment consultant(s), and custodian(s).
  • Regularly evaluating the performance of investment manager(s) to assure adherence to policy guidelines and to monitor investment objective progress.
  • Developing and enacting proper control procedures; e.g., replacing investment manager(s) due to a fundamental change in the investment management process, or for failure to comply with established guidelines.

3.6.1.1.6. Responsibilities of Investment Managers

  • The Executive Director will serve as the investment manager.
  • The investment manager will invest assets placed in his, her or its care in accordance with this investment policy.
  • The investment manager must acknowledge in writing acceptance of responsibility as a fiduciary.
  • The investment manager will have full discretion in making all investment decisions for the assets placed under his, her or its care and management, while operating within all policies, guidelines, constraints, and philosophies outlined in this Investment Policy.
Specific responsibilities of investment manager(s) include:
  • Discretionary investment management, including decisions to buy, sell, or hold individual securities, and to alter allocation within the guidelines established in this statement.
  • Reporting, on a timely basis, monthly investment performance results.
  • Communicating any major changes in the economic outlook, investment strategy, or any other factors that affect implementation of investment process.
  • Informing the Board, or if authority is delegated, the Investment Committee, regarding any changes in portfolio management personnel, ownership structure, investment philosophy, etc.
  • Voting proxies, if requested by the Board, or if authority is delegated, the Investment Committee, on behalf of the Organization.
  • Administering the Organization’s investments at reasonable cost, balanced with avoiding a compromise of quality. These costs include, but are not limited to, management and custodial fees, consulting fees, transaction costs and other administrative costs chargeable to the Organization.

3.6.1.1.7 Endowments with Donor Restrictions Information

  • In 2013, a donation in the amount of $50,000 was contributed to the Organization for the purpose of establishing The Robert G. Raskin Memorial Fund (the Fund) to promote collaboration, research support, and exposure for talented students in the earth or computer sciences. The intent of the donor in making the commitment was to establish a permanent endowment fund held by the Organization. Additional contributions may be made to the Fund and such gifts shall be subject to the terms of the Fund and will be considered permanent. The annual income from the Fund may be paid out partially or in its entirety as scholarships or rolled over for use in a future year or any combination thereof. The scholarship will be awarded annually and will provide a stipend, travel support to the ESIP July meeting and an invited talk covering the winner’s field of interest.
  • As required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP), net assets associated with endowment funds are classified and reported based on the existence or absence of donor-imposed restrictions. The Organization’s management has interpreted the District of Columbia Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) as requiring preservation of the fair value of the original gift as of the gift date of the endowment funds, absent explicit donor stipulations to the contrary. As a result of this interpretation, the Organization classifies as with donor restricted net assets the original value of gifts donated to the permanent endowment. The remaining portion of donor-restricted endowment funds are classified as net assets without donor restrictions until those amounts are appropriated for expenditure by the Organization in a manner consistent with the standard of prudence prescribed by UPMIFA.

3.6.1.1.8 General Investment Guidelines

  • A copy of this Investment Policy shall be provided to all Investment Managers.
  • The Organization is a tax-exempt organization as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This tax-exempt status should be taken into consideration when making Organization investments.
  • The Organization is expected to operate in perpetuity; therefore, a 10 year investment horizon shall be employed. Interim fluctuations should be viewed with appropriate perspective.
  • A cash account shall be maintained with a zero to very low risk tolerance to keep cash available for grant distributions, tax obligations and other anticipated expenses.
  • Transactions shall be executed at reasonable cost, taking into consideration prevailing market conditions and services and research provided by the executing broker.
  • Permitted investments include: Cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities including equities and fixed income securities.
  • No fixed income security shall have an equivalent credit quality below investment grade at the time of purchase, defined as:
    • BBB by Standard & Poors for straight bonds and convertibles
    • Baa3 by Moody’s Investor Service for straight bonds and convertibles
    • A1 by Standard & Poors for short term securities
    • P1 by Moody’s Investor Service for short-term securities
    • AAA for money market accounts
  • The following transactions are prohibited: Purchase of non-negotiable securities, derivatives, high risk or junk bonds, private placements, precious metals, commodities, short sales, any margin transactions, straddles, warrants, options, life insurance contracts, leverage or letter stock.

3.6.1.1.9. Diversification

  • The Organization will maintain a reasonable diversification of investment assets between asset classes and investment categories at all times.
  • Investments in the equity securities of any one company shall not exceed [5%] of the portfolio nor shall the total securities position (debt and equity) in any one company exceed [10%] of the portfolio.
  • Reasonable sector allocations and diversification shall be maintained. No more than [25%] of the entire portfolio may be invested in the securities of any one sector.
  • Investments within the investment portfolio should be readily marketable.
  • The investment portfolio should not be a blind pool; each investment must be available for review.

3.6.1.1.10. Asset Allocation

The asset allocation policy shall be predicated on the following factors:

  • Historical performance of capital markets adjusted for the perception of the future short and long-term capital market performance.
  • The correlation of returns among the relevant asset classes.
  • The perception of future economic conditions, including inflation and interest rate assumptions.
  • Liquidity requirements for the projected grants and other charitable expenditures.
  • The relationship between the current and projected assets of the Organization and projected liabilities.

3.6.1.1.11. Allocation Range

Note

The Organization should determine its own allocations, based on its investment objectives and cash needs. The following allocation schedule is only a sample and is not recommended for use without review by investment counsel.

Asset Allocation Range Target Upper limit
Cash & Equivalents 5% 0 - 15%
Fixed Income 40% 20 - 60%
Equities: Domestic Large Cap 25% 20 - 40%
Equities: Domestic Small/Mid Cap 20% 10 - 25%
Equities: International 10% 5 - 15%

Rebalancing shall be done on a semi-annual basis or more frequently if deemed necessary.

3.6.1.1.12. Performance

Performance objectives are to be met on a net of fees basis. The investment performance of each asset allocation class will be measured on two levels: against inflation objectives for the total Organization and against index objectives for individual portfolio components. Investment performance shall be measured no less than quarterly on a net of fees basis. Performance shall be evaluated on a three to five year basis to allow for market fluctuations and volatility.

3.6.1.1.13. Contracted Asset Management

Since the Executive Director and Board of Directors may not be experts in investing, an asset manager may be hired. The policy guidelines, diversification goals, and other details from this policy will be provided to the asset manager with a request that this policy be adhered to in the investment of the Organization’s monies. Periodically, the contracted asset manager will be requested to report on the investment(s) to demonstrate compliance with this policy.

3.6.2. Capital Equipment

Policy

All property that has been acquired or created by ESIP, which has a current value of $5000.00 or more and a useful life greater than one year must be described in the current inventory of property. Property that does that meet this requirement will be expensed in the year of acquisition. Property that has been acquired directly for a grant will be expensed to the grant and will not be capitalized.

3.6.3. Employee Retirement Accounts

Policy

ESIP offers a 403(b) plan to employees held at Vanguard. ESIP will provide matching contribution of up to 5% of salary for employee contributions to a qualified retirement account arrangement.

Procedure

  • Executive Director is responsible for ERISA compliances and works with a third party firm.

  • Employee contributions are withheld from employees’ paychecks and contributions are submitted by the Operations Director each payday.

3.6.4. Operating Reserve

Policy

  • The target minimum operating reserve fund for the organization is three (3) months of average operating costs. The calculation of average monthly operating costs includes all recurring, predictable expenses such as salaries and benefits, travel, program, and ongoing professional services.
  • ESIP must maintain a minimum amount of available funds on deposit to ensure that operations can be maintained in the absence of funds from a current contract or award. The minimum amount of available funds must be equal to the total cost of 3 months of salaries for all permanent staff members on the payroll and to the total cost of 3 months of other current overhead expenses.

Procedure

  • The amount of the operating reserve will be calculated each year after approval of the annual budget, reported to the Finance Committee and Board of Directors, and included in regular financial reports.
  • The operating reserve will be funded with surplus unrestricted operating funds.
  • The Board of Directors may from time to time direct that a specific source of revenue be set aside for operating reserves. Examples may include one-time gifts or bequests, special grants, or special appeals.
  • To use the operating reserves, the Executive Director will submit a request to the Finance Committee. The request will include the analysis and determination of the use of funds and plans for replenishment. The organization’s goal is to replenish the funds used within twelve (12) months to restore the operating reserve fund to the target minimum amount.

This Policy was revised by the ESIP Board of Directors on January 14, 2019.